Dragon Keeper, Emperors Pearl
by Lupa Altre
Summary: Tsunayoshi Sawada. Descendent of the finest dragon-keeper to ever walk this green non-earth planet. Hardcore dragon-lover. Total Bleeding Heart. Scion of two prominent bloodlines. A not-quite-human (and rather scary) mother, and an idiot dragon keeper father who never comes home. Now, he's being shipped off to a famous school, and must survive the coming years. Great. ALL27 harem
1. 1 - Of Dragons Who Aren't

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or any other works referenced in this fic, outside of the plot and OCs. I also own nothing of the dragon-keeper series.**

_**Warnings - Shounen-ai, ALL27, harem ending, fantasy setting, strong-when-necessary-but-usually-dame!Dragon!Tsuna, tough!dragon!Nana, and fluffiness.**_

**Yes, I do know that I have other stories ongoing. However, my writing style can literally be described as, I do what I want. I enjoy odd thoughts and plots, and jumping between my stories frequently, since it's fun that way.**

* * *

A young boy cooly lounged on a rock, basking in the warm rays of the sun dancing across his back. A shirtless torso lay exposed, while loose, flowing pants hid the important bits. Thin, lithe muscles, and a body any supermodel would be jealous of, created a look of feminine elegance, both beauty and strength giving an aura of leadership and power. His hair was long and soft enough to make silk turn green with envy. It was blonde one top, and brown underneath, about half and half. A single long streak of orange hair waved in the breeze from its spot directly in front of his ear.

A sigh of content, and he rolled over again, now on his back. Orange scales decorated his body, a thin, long trail of which glittered across and around his chest, back, and abdomen, in a swirling pattern, as though someone had wrapped a ribbon of orange around him, and glittered madly in the brilliant beams of light. The unknown boy shifted and lazed about a while longer, however, suddenly, he stiffened, before turning in a seemingly empty direction. Standing, he gracefully jumped down to the ground in preparation to move - unfortunately, the moment was ruined when he took a step, and quickly proceeded to trip over thin air.

From his place face-down on the ground, an aura of gloom seemed to emerge, though, he soon got over it - as though it was a common experience - hopping up once more, and, after a brief moment of contemplation, reoriented himself in the direction he had been facing beforehand. Lifting his foot, he pushed off the ground, and was gone. Actually, no, not really. In all actuality, he had simply kicked off the ground and started running faster than the eye could see, something anyone who had been trained properly could have done. Most people just weren't properly trained. Of course, considering he was only 17 years old, he had only been training since he was four (which was, unknown to him, 6 years longer than anyone else) and thus was only barely proficient with it his Sorcery. It didn't help that he had such a massive amount of Ether that control was at max level difficulty. The final thing that made everything so much harder was that he was a priorly undiscovered mage type, thus, he had to learn and create all his magic on his own.

Yeah. First-world problems.

As he ran, due to the life-or-death consequences of not responding fast enough, he didn't trip once. Though usually very clumsy, if his, or his family's, life was in danger, then he became graceful as a black-wind deer (fyi, this world is approx 82 times larger than earth, and due to the influence of ether, will have some different plants and animals). At the moment, the life-threatening event was his mother calling. She did not appreciate those who were late, to say the least.

Finally, he made it to the front of a small, simple house, with a plain exterior, and a sizeable garden in front. A large field was in the back, filled with various crops that were currently growing, some even harvestable, as summer was ending. He immediately stopped, tidied himself up, before entering, taking his shoes off in the hallway. Upon entering the living room, he was blinded by so many sparkles that the sun would have been ashamed.

"Mom... " he greeted cautiously, "what's got you in such a great mood?"

"Tsu-kun, I managed to get you into Namimori Academy of Dragon's and Keeper's! NADK for short."

He simply stared blankly for about a minute, before sighing, and shrugging. He had grown used to his mother's flighty tendencies, and had learned a long, long time ago that if you just go along with her, you don't end up tied up and thrown into a lava pit filled with Magma Serpents. Yeah. He was forever scarred by that incident.

"Ok mom, so, when do I leave?"

"Tomorrow!" The sparkling intensified, seeming to threaten him into going along and not protesting about the lack of notice.

"Alright kaa-san, what's for dinner?"

* * *

The next day, at about twelve o'clock, he finally arrived at NADK, after having run at top speed for five hours straight. He had even drawn on some of his Ether stores to prevent himself from collapsing the moment he arrived. His mother wouldn't approve of anything less than an excellent first impression. That would be _terrifying_.

Due to the life-or-death nature of the situation, he accidently drew on a bit of his training from his studies to inherit his mother's position. Walking firmly upright, he moved gracefully towards the massive doors, purpose in his step, poise of a… _King _(hint, hint). The aura he gave off immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the courtyard, girls and boys alike sighed aloud at his smoldering (in their eyes) golden irises, that were complemented by deep-orange pupils. Lovesick sighs could be heard throughout the courtyard. In the fringes, a man in a simple black suit and fedora watched, a slight smirk on his lips. The new kid was interesting.

Cooly walking into the reception room, he gazed at the receptionist who, sensing his presence, looked up, about to open her mouth and ask about what he needed, before she was hit with the full force of his eyes staring right into hers. Everyone else had only gotten a glimpse from the side, however, she received a direct hit while he was in his 'Hyper Dying Will Mode', as his mother called it jokingly. His eyes, she would later describe, were like a gentle blaze, ready to become a destructive wildfire at the slightest provocation. At the moment however, she was left gaping, blood rising up until her face resembled a tomato.

"Ma'am?" A now worried voice sounded, as she felt a cool hand across her forehead. "I'm a new student, but if you need to go to the nurse, I'd be willing to escort you."

"A-ah," she stuttered, embarrassed by herself reacting like a schoolgirl in love, "No, I was simply shocked, the principals office is three doors to the left."

He gave her a worried look a moment longer, before giving a gentle smile that made her breath catch, and turning to head into the indicated room, a quiet thank you floating to her ears. The second he opened the door to the office, she grabbed her phone quick as a flash, dialing the number to one of her friends.

"Oh my gosh, I just met the new student, and can you believe…"

* * *

Walking into the room, regal countenance still in place, he came face to face with an elder who, while clearly old, still radiated an aura of strength and wisdom. Even his royal lineage of draconic origin agreed with the deep bow of respect he gave the man - Timoteo, he remembered, Ninth Royal Keeper. Dragons respected strength, after all, that was how they chose a Keeper - sometimes several, depending on power.

"Rise, Tsunayoshi Armonia Vongola. Your mother has already informed you of your admittedly unique circumstances as both a Keeper and a Dragon. Usually, children take after one or the other of their parents, but my senses do not lie. Not only that, but a Royal Dragon _and_ Royal Keeper blood… You'll need considerable training to prevent overcast."

"I know. I assume you have already prepared a solution?"

"Yes. Due to you only needing a single hour of sleep, you will alternate between Dragon and Keeper classes, sending a flame construct to the class you aren't taking that day in order to learn what you will be missing. You will then spend the remaining hours absorbing the information learned by the construct, and receive your hour of sleep. Also, if you ever need an update to the organic memory chip imbedded in your brain, come to me, I'll take care of it."

Tsuna gave him a grateful nod and listened to the remaining information about his placement exam and potential classes, grabbed a map, and left. He had been worried about that. Due to his eidetic memory, his lifespan should have been shortened drastically. To explain it, think of a computer. When you download too much data, it begins to slow down, eventually crashing. That is what should have happened to his brain. He would remember every scent, sight, taste, sound, and tactile feeling from every second of his existence, this massive information, never draining or being replaced, only building up, would have caused his brain to 'crash'. However, they had luckily been able to create a special chip to store, organize, and process all the information he received constantly, using a mix of Ether and technology. It required occasional updates though, only every 15 years. There was a side effect however. The chip had integrated into his being, and, Tsuna having been the one to program it, inadvertently developed an AI. Basically, he now had a voice in his head. Unlike a separate personality, it could not assume control, nor did it want to, instead, it threw out snarky comments and helpful information alike.

The AI had taken a male persona, and seemed to consider itself as his big brother, despite the fact that he was clearly older. The AI had chosen the name Giotto for itself, and, put simply, had a massive brother complex. Due to an update over the years, Giotto could now access all kinds of technology through his connection to Tsuna's phone.

The final side effect was that, through regulating his body, the chip conserved every single bit of energy that would ordinarily have been wasted, and recycled it through his body, thus, he only needed a single hour of sleep per day, and could go two weeks without rest before beginning to get tired. He could still sleep for the sake of sleeping, but it wasn't nearly as necessary. It also regulated his metabolism and digestion, and thus, he stayed both thin, healthy, and didn't get hungry or thirsty very often. While this was useful, it also served to make him feel singled out from others.

As his thoughts wound down to a close, he finally arrived to the Keepers testing room. All keepers had the ability to sense dragon eggs of all kinds, minor, major, royal, all of them. This ability varied in strength depending on the keeper. The strongest ever listed was The First Royal Keeper, Giotto Vongola, which Tsuna's AI had decided to name himself after. Giotto had had such a strong ability to sense dragon eggs, that he was almost unable to restrain himself from immediately rushing to them, much less turning and leaving. People had referred to it as the Vongola Hyper Intuition, which had disappeared when Giotto left and hid himself. Tsuna, his many time great-grandson, had inherited his hyper intuition, possibly an even more powerful version than Giotto's had been. Luckily, due to his isolation, he hadn't come into contact with any dragon eggs so far, though that was about to change.

First though, he had a bit of an unexpected encounter. Due to his distracted thoughts, he had run directly into someone, and they had both ended up toppling down, though somehow, Tsuna ended up on the bottom due to the others superior weight. Opening his eyes, he got a face-full of menacing glare, the source of which was a boy with forest-green eyes, and silver hair styled like an octopus.

"Tch! Moron, watch where your going! How did someone so pathetic even get into such a high-standing school, anyways." He then stood and left before Tsuna could get a word in, tips of his ears with the slightest hint of red.

He sighed, fingering the pouch around his waist that his mother had given him. She had said it had the purpose of holding any dragon eggs he might find, and could not hold anything else, though it had infinite space for eggs. Finally, he opened the doors, and immediately upon stepping through, jerked forward, and was barely able to stop himself, though he vibrated with restrained energy. Abruptly, a bored, drawling voice sounded from almost right beside him. He hadn't noticed due to the distraction of the fact that he was _completely surrounded by minor dragon eggs_!? There were even 4 or 5 Major dragon eggs!

"You are the new Dragon Keeper wannabee?"

"Yes." He said shortly, his senses were going wild, so many untethered eggs, hatchlings, children, _mine_, his dragon half hissed at him, sounding pleased.

"Are you prepared to begin? All you need to do is-"

"Collect as many eggs as possible within the time limit? Yes, ok, please hurry, I don't think I can restrain myself much longer."

The green haired man blinked, before doing a double take. A gleam appeared in his eyes as he observed the physical _pain_ Tsuna was in, simply from standing nearby a room full of Dragon Eggs. Interesting.

"Ok, 3, 2, 1, start-" He blinked, only to find himself looking at a completely empty spot. Looking into the forest which the eggs were hidden, the only sign of the odd boy a faint whistling that came with something moving at high speeds. "-now." He finished, smirk flitting across his usual expressionless face.

Meanwhile, Tsuna ran at his top speed with Ether reinforcements boosting his speed, collecting every single egg he could sense. There were approximately 473 Minor dragon eggs, and he was already nearing the halfway mark in the 3 minutes since he had begun. They had all been well hidden, however, he could sense the exact location of every single one, and could even tell the fastest way to reach them. Thank you, hyper intuition.

About five minutes later, he finished collecting every single minor dragon egg, and still had 22 minutes to go. Thus, he immediately started on the Major Dragon eggs instead. They were located in very widespread spots, thus, it took him ten minute to collect four. There was one left though. It felt a bit different, though he couldn't really pinpoint it. It was at the very top of the mountain in the center of the room (hurrah for pocket-dimension spells!). Immediately, he took off, and slamming his magic into his feet, began to run through the air. It took an entire 15 minutes to get to the top even with his insane speed. Finally, he reached the top, and, atop a thin, inch wide indentation, sat a large egg easily twice the size of a Major Dragon's egg.

As he approached carefully, getting within touching distance, he finally placed the different feeling the egg gave off. His spiky, chocolate brown hair tipped with blonde waved in a nonexistent breeze, the samurai-style ponytail the long silky locks were bound in loosened the slightest bit, as a breathy, awed murmur managed to slip past his lips.

"Greater Dragon…"

However, a beeping sound broke his stupor, and his hyper intuition pulled on his consciousness so hard that resistance was futile, he could only stumble forward, reaching out and picking up the egg with the delicacy of someone handling a priceless, breakable gem. He cradled the large egg, giving it a gentle, protective gaze. However, he soon recalled the time limit, and, internally panicking, pushed of the mountain as hard as he could, directly towards the ground at the entrance. As he fell through the air, or more like rocketed, a loud boom signified his breaking of the sound barrier. He had carefully coated the egg in a thin layer of ether, so it was unaffected. Within a minute, he was only meters away from touchdown, and with an inhumanly graceful maneuver, turned himself so his feet were facing the ground instead, and slammed into the ground. Bending his knees and reinforcing his body with Ether, a massive crater was formed around him.

On the outside, the green-haired scientist stared at the massive cloud of dust. As it cleared, he blinked rapidly, as there was no way the fragile looking, feminine boy from earlier, was climbing out of the crater like he did it every day. While carrying the greater dragon egg. A beeping sound from his device had him looking down, and his face smoothed into a flat stare, while he looked at the score.

'_Every single egg has been gathered. Judging by displayed skillset, is to be placed in Class SSS special.'_

Slowly looking back up, he said in a monotone voice, "Congratulations, you are now the first and only student in Class SSS special, thus, you will be working alongside Class SSS with a private tutor assisting you personally.

Tsuna blinked at him, and abruptly, the dignified aura he had kept up the entire time so far disappeared, as he flopped over onto the ground, still handling the Greater Dragon egg carefully. "Thank goodness, I was worried that I hadn't done a very good job, and that my mother would come and hunt me down." Suddenly, he turned to the scientist beside him. A smile spread across his face, and he beamed at the green-haired man.

Verde, meanwhile, felt a strange influx of blood to his face, and, even as he wondered about this reaction, turned on the feature of his glasses that protected from high-intensity light to prevent his eyes from being damaged. He thought that brilliant sparkles flying from the boy in front of him warranted this cautionary measure.

"Anyways, I'm Tsuna, who are you?" The boy had calmed down a bit, so he turned off his sunglasses, though he still eyed the sparkles warily.

"Verde. Head Scientist. Lightning Arcobaleno. A pleasure."

"Of course, Verde-san. Likewise." Then, the boy glanced down at his watch, and his jaw dropped the slightest bit, which allowed Verde to notice something a bit odd. His canine teeth were slightly larger than average, and in the back of the throat, there appeared to be a pattern that dragons had which prevented their flames from harming their throats. "HIIIEEE! I've got to go! Sorry, Verde-san, I'll talk to you again sometime!" Then, he was gone. Verde stared after him, wondering how he was supposed to get in-touch without any contact information. His phone vibrated, and he absently reached for it, before staring for a long moment at the displayed message.

'_Don't worry, I have communication covered. I'm not doing it for you, really I don't even like you, but Tsuna seems to like you so don't hurt him. If you do I'll destroy all your online research, and block any research websites from you no matter where you go. Have a nice day! ~Giotto_

* * *

A Tsunayoshi dashed through the halls, he simultaneously scolded Giotto for not telling him about the time, and also firmly told him to 'please refrain from sending my new friends threatening messages.'

Finally, he stopped in front of his new dorm, still clutching the egg, though he had cloaked it with Ether so suspicious characters wouldn't get any suspicious ideas. Staring upwards, he observed the place he would be living in from now on, while Giotto complained about how the well-kept, modern, beautiful building 'wasn't worthy enough' for Tsuna. It was in calming shades of blue, with black and white trim, and some orange patterns making appearances here and there.

Dorm: Vongola, Decimo Sector. Aka, his new home.

He placed his hand on the door, which immediately scanned him and recognized his Ether signature as the new tenant. As he did this, Giotto used a strand that he had commandeered, and infiltrated the system. He would gain complete control of the entire building by the end of the day, with no one the wiser.

As it finished scanning him, he smiled brightly, and opened the door. Of course, as these things tend to go, he immediately tripped upon entering. To complete the moment, he fell into someone as well. The person was built like a brick wall, and didn't move an inch despite being hit full force by his '95 pounds of pure terror', a title which Giotto had chosen not to comment on, due to the fact that Tsuna wouldn't appreciate being told he wasn't particularly scary in the least, and was instead reminiscent of a small animal.

Quickly recovering, Tsuna immediately backed off and put just enough distance to seem respectful, and also prepared for hostile behavior, yet close enough not to seem nervous. He then found himself looking up (_why am I always looking up!?_) into cold, steel colored eyes. '_Remember Tsu-kun, always analyze anyone and everyone around you. You never know if they might be hostile.' _This lesson had been imparted to him by his mother, who had been quite _thorough_ in his lessons in analysis and logic.

He immediately scanned the boy in front of him. Approximately 19 years of age, black hair, smooth and neat, lean muscular body, holds himself like a predator, judging by the glare, is temperamental, entire appearance is very neat, seems to dislike human contact. Judgement: Aggressive, enjoys fighting, hates human contact, prefers isolation, has an obsession with discipline, and definitely, if his nose was correct (which it always was), a Keeper. Cloud, to be more specific. Finally, definitely about to beat me up.

He was certainly right about that last one, he had to admit. If not for his reflexes and instinct, he would be unconscious by now. As it is, his HDWM was activated by the massive bloodlust currently directed at him. The silver steel tonfa went whistling past his head, nearly crushing his skull in, the air pressure by itself managed to cause his hair to flutter around wildly. Not giving him a second of respite, a second tonfa nearly had him revisiting his breakfast as it almost made contact with his stomach, but he once again narrowly dodged it, though it grazed his side. Vivid pain flashed through him, likely a fractured rib, though he didn't so much as blink. Giotto, meanwhile, was going nuts, routing his Ether to heal him, and reinforce him in order to prevent him from ending up six feet under.

As the first tonfa headed towards his rib, followed by the second going for his arm, Tsuna continued to casually dodge them both, humming quietly in pain when it came to the direct hits on his arms, though the reinforcements prevented broken bones (they were already like steel without Ether, this kid was insanely powerful to crack one without a direct hit) he still had massive bruises, though they were almost instantaneously healed by Giotto.

As minutes passed, the aggressive kid started being less angry, and more excited. '_Looks like that analysis was correct as well, he's definitely a fight-freak.'_ The fight continued on even longer still, and neither noticed as they gained a one-man audience. The silver-head blinked upon realizing it was the same weak brat from earlier, though upon realizing the circumstances, decided to stick around and watch. At this point, Tsuna had memorized and analyzed aggressive-kid's fighting style, and easily dodged every hit. Near the beginning, he had stored away the egg in a temporary pocket dimension, before he found a more permanent spot to put it. So enthralled in the fight was he, that he began to give tips on how to minimize movement, maximize strength and speed, compliments on aggressive-kid's ability, and even contemplating the excellent condition of the tonfas he used.

After about an hour of this, the kid once again was about to hit him, and so he quickly dodged out of the way. Unfortunately, he didn't realize the fact that someone was behind him, and was now about to be hit and, most likely, killed by the steel rods heading towards the silver-headed boys chest. Immediately upon realizing this, and seeing the look of panic and terror upon the kids face, Tsuna threw all thoughts of personal safety out the window, though Giotto protested wildly.

Meanwhile, in the thoughts of the silver-head…

'_So this is where it ends for me, huh? Not even in an honorable battle, simply because I didn't think to move out of the way of a fight between two monsters. Damn. This really sucks.' _ He had closed his eyes, and awaited the pain that would come before he died a painful death by the Demon Prefect of NADK. However, after a few moments, he felt no impact, rather the only thing he heard was an impact, the sound of something shattering, and a gasping cough. Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was something he never would have expected.

Hibari Kyoya, though his expression was as stoic as ever, seemed to have the barest hint of panic in his eyes. That was impossible though, he only cared about those who had earned his respect in some way, and even then, it wasn't to this degree. However, following the steel-colored eyes to where they were looking, all thoughts of the skylark flew out the window. The boy from before, with chocolate colored hair that turned to gold halfway down in a high, samurai style ponytail, that was spiky yet looked so soft, golden eyes with pupils of orange that seemed to hold strength and kindness alike, and an aristocratic, feminine face, that seemed to hold wisdom and acceptance alike. However, the image was ruined with the copious amounts of blood he was coughing up, it was splattered all over his shirt, dribbling down his chin, and splattering against the floor. More terrifying still, was the fact that shards of bone were coming up with the blood.

Despite the fact that they should have been glazed with pain, those golden eyes remained as sharp as ever, staring directly into his. Lips stained crimson parted, and he managed to wheeze out a short sentence.

"Are… You o-... Okay… Silver, kun?"

"The hell!? You're bleeding out on the floor like you've got a blood bank on standby, and you want to know if I'm okay?!" All he got was a patient, understanding look. Hesitating a moment as he blinked back tears that had leapt to his eyes unbidden, he whispered, "yes, I'm okay." In return, he received a gentle, understanding smile. However, his mouth opened once more, and he was unable to stop the question that tumbled out.

"Why did you save me?"

His savior gave him a look that clearly said he thought he was an idiot.

"Because, you deserve, to be saved."

It was said in a strong, clear voice, despite the pain it clearly caused him. Gokudera couldn't help but search his eyes for what he found in everyone else's. Lies, greed, hatred, deceit. Yet, he found no such thing. Glimmering gold was filled with a gentle warmth that curled around the distrust and hatred he had clutched onto for all these years, since it was all that he had. Those eyes screamed love and acceptance, the only reason a person would be willing to risk severe injury simply to save a total stranger whom he had never seen before. Actually, no, they had met once upon a time, a short while ago.

**Flashback**

_Gokudera glared down at the pathetic weakling who was currently on the ground in front of him. The boy had brown hair that turned to blond, and was scrawny and pathetically weak. He had even tripped on thin air, landing in his path._

_He emotionlessly shoved the brat out of his way, snarling at him that tripping in front of people was a good way to end up ridiculed and stepped on. The world wasn't going to wait for this brat, better it be him to tell him than anyone else. As he turned and left, he heard a voice call out to him._

"_Thank you for helping me out of the way like that!" He almost stumbled in disbelief at such idiocy, "and thanks for the advice you gave me, I'll be careful!"_

**Flashback End**

This was the same boy, but the only thing that memory did was give the kid a reason to hate him, not save him. He could feel a foreign emotion well up inside him as he realized that he had been saved simply because this boy had deemed him worth saving. Honestly, he had a feeling that this boy would deem anyone worth saving, but that made him even more in awe than before. Someone who would selflessly give themselves up to help others definitely deserved absolute loyalty! Not only that, but despite his strength, his newfound boss (he didn't consider that he had just made a rather one-sided decision) was in need of protecting from those who would take advantage of his kindness. Thus, he would become his (self-proclaimed) right-hand man and protect him from the bastards who might try and hurt him.

All these thoughts and one-sided decisions took place in a few seconds. However, Gokudera reined himself in from pledging eternal loyalty until he could help his boss get situated. Hibari meanwhile… nobody knows what he's thinking. However, he quickly swept up the small animal (when did he title him that?) into his arms, and moved him over to the couch. While Gokudera would have protested, it helped his precious boss, who took priority over his own feelings on the matter, thus he wouldn't complain.

After Hibari set his new boss down, Gokudera immediately moved forward and began hovering, worriedly asking if he needed anything. Water? Food? Ice? Blankets? Tsuna patiently denied needed anything, and after a few minutes of this, Gokudera had finally calmed down enough to just sit beside him. At least, until he remembered something else. Immediately, he kneeled and slammed his head onto the floor.

"Boss! I'll follow you forever, due to your kindness in saving a worthless existence such as myself! As your right-hand man, I'll definitely protect you." Tsuna blinked at having apparently received a right-hand man, but immediately gave Gokudera a kind smile.

"Gokudera-kun, one such as myself has no need for a right-hand man," Gokudera immediately flinched. Nobody wanted him before, why would an amazing angel such as this boy? "But, I could use a friend." It took a moment for the silveret to process these words, but as soon as he did, his ears turned bright red, and tears slid down his cheeks. "By the way, my name is Tsunayoshi Sawada, but please call me Tsuna." (The name the ninth told him to use rather than Armonia Vongola)

"Tsuna-sama! Of course, though I am not worthy of your greatness, I will definitely do my best in following you!" Tsuna gave an amused sigh at this, but simply continued to smile. "Thank you, Gokudera-kun. I don't mind, since it takes the loneliness out of your eyes." Poor Gokudera got an eyeful of the sparkles Tsuna was now emanating, and as his entire face turned bright red, he also had to shield his eyes at risk of going blind. He was touched, though, that Tsuna-sama had seen through his tough exterior, and was willing to accept him despite his shortcomings.

"Hn. Herbivore, small animal. Stop making so much noise." Immediately, they turned their eyes to him, as they had forgotten his presence. Upon having their attention, Hibari narrowed his eyes. "Small animal. I expect a fight at least once a day from now on."

"Sure, that's fine…"

"Hibari Kyoya."

"Hibari-san. I'll practice with you whenever I have free time. However, I must prioritize my classes."

Hibari stared him down for a few long moments, but finally, he acquiesced, nodding. "Hn. I cannot allow the school's reputation to be sullied." Tsuna just smiled, while Gokudera lost all mental functions upon the realization that one Hibari Kyoya, Demon Prefect of NADK, had just given in to someone else's reasoning.

By the time he got over his mental shock, Hibari had already disappeared, and Tsuna-sama was rather close to his face, staring into his eyes worriedly. Shocked, Gokudera fell backwards, and Tsuna fell with him. Next thing he knew, he found himself staring into pools of molten gold with an orange center, warm breath fanning across his lips.

He nearly had a heart attack.

So much blood had rushed to his head that he was starting to feel lightheaded. "Gokudera-kun, are you alright? Your face has gotten incredibly red, I've heard somewhere that that happens when someone is sick, would you like some ice?"

'_I think a cold shower would be more appropriate...'_ "Not at all, Tsuna-sama! I was simply shocked by being over-exposed to your greatness!"

"Hmmm… Well, if you say so. Anyways, I wanted to ask you. Would you like to make a contract with me?" The thought of hiding his identity didn't even occur to Tsuna. Nobody had told him that he shouldn't tell anyone, thus, he didn't see a problem with talking to his best friend about it.

Gokudera simply gave him a confused look. "Tsuna-sama, I can only form contracts with dragons, as I am a keeper." Tsuna returned his confused look with one of his own. "I know that. I don't see any problem with it. I am a dragon, after all."

That was the final straw. Poor Gokudera had went through way too many shocks today. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he found himself falling into sweet, peaceful oblivion.

* * *

"De-... -kun… Gok-... -ra… Dera-kun… Gokudera-kun!" Upon hearing a familiar voice intrude into his unconscious mind, he immediately responded. "Tsuna-sama! My apologies for my disgraceful behavior!"

"It's fine, Gokudera-kun. You must have been tired, almost dying and all. I'm so sorry I didn't think of that possibility!"

"Don't worry, Tsuna-sama, it's fine. But, what were you saying earlier, about being a dragon?"

"Maybe I should just show you. Want to come with me to my room? I found it during your nap." Gokudera sweatdropped at his Tsuna-sama's naivete, but quickly followed him. However, upon reaching the door, he blinked several times in confusion. He was pretty sure that it didn't look like this earlier.

"The door was covered in symbols that bore an odd resemblance to the writing once used by the Japanese, called 'Kanji'. However, it hadn't been used since everyone began using a single language, since they needed to be able to communicate with each other in order to survive the ELE. (Extinction Level Event)

Tsuna had apparently noticed his confusion, and answered the unspoken question. "Due to my position, it was vital that I learn this particular language, along with Chinese and Korean. Those symbols, when combined with my Draconic _Vivere_, can hold and channel it in order to create special effects. Other languages are either considerably less effective, or not effective at all. If you decide to contract with me, I could teach you to use it effectively, if you want."

"Amazing, Tsuna-sama!" imaginary puppy ears and tail appeared on him in his excitement. Tsuna blinked in confusion, but just shrugged at the oddness. He channeled his Ether to unlock the door.

"Well, come in then." They stepped through, and Tsuna quickly shut the door, while Gokudera just gaped. It was a massive area, about the size of the Amazon Rainforest back on the old planet, at least before it had been cut down. There were several waterfalls at least twice the size of the Niagara falls, and a massive forest covered the majority of the area. The rest had several lakes, rivers, plains, and rocky mountain areas. The ceiling looked exactly like the sky, and the weather was an exact replica of the outside world's. A huge tent, about 20 meters wide, and 40 meters long, stood in the middle of a clearing. It was a simple blue color, though it had designs in the seven colors of the rainbow that looked like different kinds of weather.

"This was exhausting to do. I'll probably running on fumes for about two weeks after this. It was worth it though." The soft smile on his face showed how true that was to him. However, he soon snapped out of it, and turned to Gokudera. "Now, what we came here for."

He moved a few meters away, and, before Gokudera could react, was engulfed in orange Ether. However, after a moment, the Ether transitioned into brilliant flames of the same color. Draconic Vivere, it was called, and this was most definitely an incredibly powerful version of it. A dragon's life force, brought forth in a physical form.

It only took a few seconds, but as the fire dispersed, his change was revealed. An Eastern-style dragon hovered in the air, though there were a few differences. A thin, elegant head with four long, thin horns, two on each side, swept back from a short ways behind his eyes, which were the same color as his human form. A long, serpentine body curled in the air, interrupted by two thin yet powerful looking forelegs, and slightly thicker hind legs. Huge ebony claws on five toed paws, each the size of a short sword, gleamed almost menacingly. His entire length was approximately five times as long as Gokudera was tall. Two massive, bat-like wings rested above his shoulder blades, and rainbow-colored flames burst out of his nose as he snorted and shook his head. At the very tip of his tail, was a large, fan-like array of thin spines, that looked like feathers, but were sharp enough to slice through solid rock with no effort. The general shape resembled a diamond, fanning out at the edges with short spines, which grew steadily longer, and facing the way his tail tip pointed at the end. His entire body was covered in brilliant ivory scales as strong as steel. Waving hairs ran down the center of his back, black as night in color, and varying in length.

However, what made Gokudera really do a double take, was the pearl attached to a chain dangling from the black collar around his neck. It was twice the size of a human fist, and black as oblivion. However, as he watched, Tsuna reached up, placing his forepaws about a foot away on either side of the pearl. It began to float steadily between his paws, and the center lit in brilliant, strong, rainbow-colored flames.

"T-that…" He stammered, astonished despite himself.

"Yeah, this pearl is the symbol of my position as next Dragon Emperor. My mother is the current Empress, but as soon as I complete this school, I'll take over her position. However, despite not having the official position yet, I still have equivalent powers. This is because there are many who would want to kill me and take the position, thus, I have to defend myself and my station from wannabe-usurpers."

"I thought the position was chosen by the life forces of past Emperors collected in the pearl, though?"

"Yes. However, some foolishly ignore this, and attempt to kill us anyways." As Gokudera contemplated this, Tsuna carefully looked him over, and after a few moments, he asked once more.

"So, Gokudera Hayato, would you like to form a contract with me?"

"Why would you want to contract with someone like me though? There are thousands of powerful, experienced keepers who would fall at your feet." Tsuna gave him a look that clearly said he thought he was stupid.

"Because. You're my first, and best, friend. Hayato, there is no one more suitable to contract me than you." Gokudera felt tears fall from his eyes at this statement, and at the fact that Tsuna had so familiarly called him by his first name.

"Of course, Tsuna-sama. I would be honored." He got a dragon-y smile, filled with dagger-like teeth, in return. Tsuna slid through the air, buoyed by his magic, not even needing to use the wings on his back. Finally, he curled around Gokudera, face directly in front of the boy's. Gokudera's eyes glazed over at this moment, and he reached out, laying a single hand on the pearl currently floating between Tsuna's paws. Energy rushed through him, so much that it was almost painful, and he felt a burning pain on his left arm. The energy was gone as fast as it had come, though his arm still stung, but now, in the fringes of his being, he could feel a new presence. Feelings of warmth and acceptance seemed to pour out from it, and he couldn't help thinking of the sky.

'_So, Hayato-kun, how are you?'_ Rather than respond, -which showed his astonishment clearly, considering who he was talking to- Gokudera pushed up his right sleeve, to reveal a large, ivory dragon wrapped around his upper arm. It was an exact replica of Tsuna in his dragon form, and seemed to hold a life-like feel to it. A contract mark, something that occurred when you make a contract with a dragon of Greater rank or above.

"This will allow us to sense each others surface emotions, physical state, and location. If ever I am near death, this mark will fade, and if I depart from this world, it will disappear completely. If we practice with it, we will also be able to initiate a telepathic conversation far more easily than with others, and will be able to slip past any mental barriers with ease. This is why a contract is only for those you explicitly trust." Gokudera just gave an exuberant grin at this statement.

At that point, Tsuna shifted back to human, and Gokudera's vision was filled with orange, until he felt a weight fall across his back. Turning his head, he blinked upon realizing that Tsuna was currently draped across him, arms over his shoulders, and feet dangling above the ground. Also, the only thing he was wearing were flowing white pants.

A stream of blood trickled from his nose, though he quickly wiped it before Tsuna noticed and started worrying. After all, he just got an eyeful of his boss's lean chest, which had a faint outline of abs peeking through his lean, toned physique, despite the earlier display that showed just how strong he was. Tsuna-sama was probably one of those types who were unable to develop much bulky muscle, despite training extensively.

"So, Hayato-kun," Tsuna jumped off his back at this point, "which classes do you have?" Gokudera's eyes began to sparkle, and, ignoring the slight sadness at the removal of warmth on his back, he grinned excitedly as he began talking about his classes, and giving an in-depth explanation about the class, lesson-style, and teacher for each one. Tsuna smiled, speaking up once in a while to mention which classes he was in with Gokudera. They took a walk while they were at it, and Tsuna tripped every few minutes, which would lead to considerable mother-henning by Gokudera, before they returned to the conversation. He discovered they were in almost all their classes together, which was expected, since they were both in Class SSS, though, Tsuna had a single different one. While Gokudera had the 'basic care for minor dragons' class, Tsuna was in the 'extensive care for all dragons' class. Upon discovering this, Gokudera almost instantly decided to actually try in his class, quickly pass it, and get in the same one as his Tsuna-sama. Plus, he had no clue as to how he would help Tsuna-sama if he needed it in his dragon form, since he had no idea on the care of Royal Dragons, much less Emperor Dragons. While the basics were the same, they all had different quirks and specifics, which would make things difficult.

Upon finishing their chat/interrogation/thing, they quickly realized just how late it was, thus, Tsuna cheerfully proclaimed that, even if he didn't need much sleep, and even if Gokudera didn't need as much now that they were contracted, sleep was still a beautiful thing. Thus, he quickly requested(demanded) that Gokudera stay with him so they can have a sleepover as newly-minted best friends. Though, he was a bit confused at how stiff Gokudera was when he proclaimed they would be sleeping in the same hammock, since he didn't have anything else. Before a token protest could be offered, he had already dragged him off, secured him on a large, broad hammock with several pillows, and climbed on top of him. As poor Gokudera became a statue, Tsuna wrapped his arms around him, laying halfway across his chest, and almost instantaneously fell asleep. All he had to do was request Giotto to send Melatonin out to make him sleep. He knew the overprotective AI would keep watch, even if someone did manage to get past the seal-wards he had placed.

* * *

Gokudera's eyes opened, waking up from his sleep that he had rather miraculously managed to achieve, considering his position. They were only friends for one day, and he had already been clung onto multiple times. He assumed this would be the case with any friends of Tsuna, not just him, which meant he had to keep away anyone but the most worthy for his boss! Which, considering his standards, was borderline impossible. Thus, he would be the sole focus of Tsuna-sama's attention forever! Unfortunately, his more realistic side whispered that surely others would also be enamored to Tsuna-sama's greatness, but he firmly ignored this fact.

As he shifted, attempting to move without waking his boss, it turned out to be for naught. Tsuna immediately snapped awake upon feeling movement, gold eyes open without a hint of sleep. "Oh, Gokudera-kun, you're awake? Did you have a nice rest?"

"Of course, Tsuna-sama! To be allowed to use your own hammock… I'm not worthy!" At first, the sparkling and puppy ears had Tsuna blinking at the transition from darkness to light, but by the end, a aura of gloom descended. However, the recovery was almost instantaneous, as soon as Tsuna asked if he could guide him to breakfast.

"Of course, Tsuna-sama!" He then glanced down at his watch, and blinked several times, seeing that it was 4am, which meant he only slept four hours, yet, he wasn't tired. "Ah, Tsuna-sama? Is this what you meant about me needing to sleep less?"

"Yep! Do you mind? You'll be able to sleep a normal amount of time with practice, but for now, you won't be able to sleep any longer than when you are fully rested. As Gokudera guided him towards the main hall, he explained about Giotto, and just why exactly he _needed_ a organic chip in his brain. Naturally, Gokudera reacted with his generic, "You're amazing as expected, Tsuna-sama!"

As they moved through the lunch line, Gokudera's eyes strayed to Tsuna's neck, recalling the pearl from earlier as he glanced at the smooth, pale skin. However, the moment he recalled it, there was no longer nothing there, instead, there was a plain black leather collar, with a tiny, cheap-looking chain, that had an equally cheap-looking marble attached. Now, Gokudera was a genius, thus, it didn't take much effort to figure out exactly what that cheap-looking marble was. He had obviously added some attention-redirecting charms to it, though they didn't work as well if someone had knowledge of the pearl, and also added the effect of it looking like a simple trinket you could get just about anywhere. Nobody would suspect it for a second of being the Emperor's pearl, the item that controlled all three aspects of the Tri-Ni-Sette. All in all, it was a great disguise, definitely made by the greatness that is Tsuna-sama!

He was so spaced out that he didn't even notice Tsuna giving the meal a unsatisfied look. Put bluntly, no one particularly cared about paying an extravagant amount to hire a chef, thus, the food was less than satisfactory for such an esteemed environment. Tsuna was used to 10 star level food, thus, such a bland palette was not tolerable when it could be fixed. Noticing that Gokudera had spaced out again, he sighed affectionately, and dragged him into the kitchen, which happened to be open to students if they wished.

Tsuna's mother was the type who decided if she was doing something, she was going all the way. This was a tendency inherited by her son. He had learned as much as possible from his mother, though, his level was only seven star, just two above the standard elite cuisine level. Naturally, he needed to continue practicing if he ever wanted to surpass his mother, so this was the perfect opportunity. Plenty of time, plenty of ingredients, plenty of tools… Perfect. He would make a meal fit for an army of Royals. He had inherited another tendency from his mother, and that was the habit of going a bit overboard.

By the time Gokudera returned from space, he was already deeply enthralled into his cooking, moving around the kitchen like a master chef (which he was). Thus, the silveret was left gaping like a fish at the way Tsuna managed to cook over fifty meals perfectly, all at one time. It took about an hour for him to make 200 meals, before he realized making anymore was not only unnecessary, but he was hungry too. He turned to leave, when he abruptly realized he had made Gokudera wait for two hours to eat.

"HHIIIEEE! Hayato-kun, I'm so sorrryyyy! I didn't mean to make you wait! I'll make you something special to make up for it!" Then, he quickly moved over to a freshly made plate of eggs, and grabbed some of his favorite seasonings and additions. Moving so fast he was a blur, he prepared his best egg recipe, and added some seasoning to the bacon as well. While his general level was seven stars, this was one of very few nine-star recipes he had created, and stored in his massive memory.

Finally finishing, he handed the plate to Gokudera, and stared at him with watery eyes, imploring him to eat it and forgive him. Gokudera almost had a heart attack upon seeing his distraught boss, and quickly began to eat, though not so fast that he couldn't taste it. Upon the first bite, his eyes nearly rolled up into the back of his head at the heavenly taste. Tsuna, answering an unspoken question, stated, "It's my best breakfast dish using eggs, it even rates nine stars on the national ranking system, in both health and taste. Is it okay?"

Gokudera stared at his naive boss in utter astonishment. Okay, was it okay!? It was heaven descended to earth in edible form! However, as he didn't want to quit eating, he just nodded exuberantly. Upon seeing Tsuna's relieved look, he gave an internal sigh of relief, after all, seeing him even slightly upset was a horrific experience to top all others. He couldn't imagine what would happen if he was truly unhappy. Maybe the destruction of the world as we know it? Ragnarok? Revelations? Some other severely life-threatening and destructive event or another? His train of thought had at this point derailed to the exceptionally unrealistic.

Tsuna had discreetly led him out of the kitchen and into the lunchroom, where he joined in chowing down. There was another reason why Tsuna cooked massive amounts at a time. Dragons, even in human form, had very, very big appetites, and he was not excluded from this. As he ate at least 10 servings of his breakfast special, and was about to finish up the eleventh, people finally started arriving in the lunchroom. The exhausted students almost immediately noticed something different upon stepping into the lunchroom. Honestly, it probably would be hard _not _to notice something. Unlike the usual cold, bland eggs and tough bacon, there was an incredible aroma wafting around. There was the hum of minor Fire Ether, just enough to keep a small area warm, in this case, the area the food was resting. There was the almost untraceable hint of preservation magic as well, which meant the food was as fresh as when it came out of the oven. Immediately, the kids who had woken early for club practices dove for the food, since there were only just under two-hundred meals. The eggs were fluffy, with various herbs, meats, and cheeses on them, and the ingredients and quantity varied. After eating each plate like ravenous wolves, they were all quite satisfied, though they did wonder who made it, considering the fact that they hadn't heard about any new chefs being hired lately. Also, there was a slightly smug air about them, due to the fact that they got to eat the incredible food, while those who slept in would be stuck with the usual. There were a few evil cackles at this thought, usually due to a friend who had rubbed in the fact that they got to sleep in every day. '_Ha! Look where sleeping in got you, suckers!'_

Children can be rather vindictive when it comes to such things.

Meanwhile, Tsuna had a slight blush due to all the compliments flying around about his food, and a pink aura had appeared around him. Several stray sparkles embedded themselves into the walls and tables, and, when Gokudera ushered him to their classroom, a trail of various flowers was left behind him. Students would wonder where they came from, and why they were there, and, soon enough, it would become one of the school's mysteries when it happened again and again.

A pair of curious, warm hazel eyes watched the two slip away. He could have sworn the silver-headed one was a bit standoffish for hanging around others, but he stared at the new kid like he was the most important thing in his life. Yeah the kid was pretty good-looking, in a feminine way, but that still didn't explain it. Gokudera had been subjected to the attentions of several people almost as beautiful, of both genders. Plus, the orange that had flashed through entrancing golden eyes every now and again interested him quite a bit.

* * *

As they walked into the classroom, Tsuna narrowed his eyes nervously at the design, golden-red orbs flashing sienna once more. There were no windows. None. No connection to the outside other than the door. It was true that considering this class would be Ether Manipulation, this would help prevent outside distractions and dangerous inattention, but… he had a little trouble when he couldn't be near the sky. Not only that, but this fact gave him rather terrible claustrophobia, and the classroom was small even without any other people. Gokudera stepped closer, and reached a hand out, seeming nervous about the action, but his worry apparently took priority.

"Tsuna-sama, what's wrong?" Over the newly formed bond, he could feel emotions of restlessness and worry pouring over. Looking closer through the weak bond, he had a sense of being, trapped. It only took him a moment to realize what the problem was. He had noticed Tsuna alway staying near windows, and avoiding being backed into a corner. Claustrophobia. This… might be bad. As he pulled Tsuna over to be his partner during the class, he chose his usual seat, in the back and close to the door, in case he just couldn't handle it anymore. Tsuna had actually started trembling, and they had only been here for five minutes, within the still empty classroom.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he seemed to force himself to calm down, and began to talk, likely to distract himself. "Giotto always helps me in things like this. He's holding off the majority of the claustrophobia for now, but, if it goes on too long, I won't be in good condition by the end of today. I'll probably need to rely on you, Hayato-kun."

While he was overjoyed that Tsuna was willing to rely on him already, his worry overwhelmed that by a rather large margin. However, he remembered something he could do. While it wouldn't completely solve the problem, he could at least help alleviate it a bit.

"Tsuna-sama, will you allow my Ether to guide yours for a moment." Without a second of hesitation, Tsuna nodded. He trusted him. Gokudera was almost moved to tears by the swift acceptance, however he quickly refocused for now. Though, such a naive outlook was a bit worrying.

Quickly, he separated a small piece of the red Ether that flowed through him (and was he imagining things, or had it multiplied?) and, grabbing Tsuna's hand, threaded it into the massive stores of orange. If his Ether Pool was large, then Tsuna's was downright ridiculous. Quickly guiding some of the Ether towards Tsuna's eyes, he simultaneously connected a stream through the ceiling, and carefully manipulated the molecules. It wasn't particularly efficient considering this was the first attempt he had made, however, it served its purpose. Tsuna, meanwhile, had memorized the sensation, and Giotto had begun breaking it down in order to figure out how to replicate, or modify, the technique. Tsuna was now able to look through the ceilings and see the sky. While it was still there, his claustrophobia had been considerably lessened.

Tsuna quickly noticed that Gokudera seemed tired by the attempt. Glancing at the time, he quickly threaded both their hands together, and, making good use of the contract connecting them, began feeding him energy. Soon enough, he would teach Gokudera how to take some on his own, but at least for now, he would take care of it. He continued to thread some in even after the pool was full, though he was careful not to damage the coils. He poured in a bit past the capacity in order to expand the mana pool a bit, before sitting back and allowing Gokudera's body to assimilate the foreign flames.

Now, there was nothing less to talk about, so the two sat in a companionable silence. However, Tsuna was used to considerable contact, "skin-ship" if you wish to call it that. Thus, he did what seemed natural to him, which was lay down on the lap of his first 'Keeper'. He felt the silveret's muscles tense, which lasted a few minutes, before he once again cautiously relaxed. Getting more comfortable, Gokudera began threading his fingers through the young dragon's hair, and a low purr confirmed the appreciation of this action. As he continued, his finger brushed against an slightly sharp bump, that felt similar to bone. Frowning, he ran a finger over the bump once again, and, a theory developing, searched for an identical one on the same place, on the other side of the half-brunet, half-blonde's head. Finding one, he absentmindedly continued to rub his fingers over it, enjoying the firm yet soft texture beneath his fingers, not even noticing the shivers wracking the boy still draped across him.

Dragon horns, especially still developing ones, are sensitive after all. A dragon has several places in which their Vivere (the draconic version of Ether, just more destructive and less practical for everyday tasks) collected. First of all, all dragons had some sort of spot where their ether collected. For minor's and major's, it was often their stomach, eyes, claws, tail, or somewhere like that. Depending on where exactly it collected, decided the abilities of the dragon. A sky type for example, would generally have Vivere collect in their throats and scales. This was because their main capability was covering themselves in flames, and speeding around to deal damage close-range, or shoot small fire blasts from their jaws. Mist types meanwhile, had ether collect in their eyes, allowing them to create illusions, and giving them exceptionally perceptive sight. Anyways, Greater Dragons, while generally starting like this, have the potential to develop enough power to grow horns. A dragon's horns aren't actually made of bone or flesh or scales. Rather, it was condensed, solidified Vivere. When the amount of Vivere overwhelms the body, horns begin to grow in order to give another 'storage bank' you could say. It's similar to pouring water in another glass once the first is full. They were made of pure Vivere, making them incredibly sensitive. This was both their greatest strength and their greatest weakness. While the extra storage allowed for more Vivere, the sensitivity made it so that, if someone managed to grab a hold of them, the dragon would be literally unable to resist. They were impossible to break, but they were still both a blessing and a curse.

Of course, Royals had these horns immediately after unlocking their Vivere, though, depending on the potential of the dragon, some grew faster than others. While he had unlocked his Ether at age four, he had only unlocked his Vivere three days ago, which actually meant it was incredible that they were already a few inches long, rather than a flat circle of concentrated Vivere on the sides of his head. As the next Emperor though, this much potential was only slightly surprising.

Of course, Gokudera, who was still rubbing the stubby horns, had no idea of any of this, and thus continued the assault on the sensitive appendages. Tsuna was still unable to move however. A dragon protected their horns first and foremost, since the second someone touched them, they would have total domination over the dragon in question. It was, essentially, the ultimate show of trust. While Tsuna may have trusted Gokudera completely, this didn't mean he wanted him to touch his horns yet. That kind of thing was reserved for family, friends so close they were practically family, or mates. Thus, it was the intimacy of the action that unsettled him so much.

Finally, he couldn't allow it to continue. While he knew Gokudera was oblivious as to the meaning, this really only made it worse, considering how important the act was. Thus, he reached out, and initiated a simple telepathic link.

'_Gokudera. Please stop touching my horns.'_ Gokudera immediately halted upon hearing Tsuna using his last name over his first once more. Immediately by the tone, he was able to figure out that he had just committed a faux-pas somehow, and the only thing he could think of was what he had just been told to stop doing.

Immediately, he got off the chair and began slamming his head into the ground. "Tsuna-sama! My apologies! I had no idea I wasn't supposed to touch your horns. If I realized, I surely wouldn't have even gotten close! To make up for my horrific mistake, I shall guard you and make sure nobody commits the same act in the future!" Tsuna sat up, and Gokudera immediately noticed how weak and shaky the movement was compared to before. He quickly frowned. "Forgive me for impudently asking something of you even after my mistake, but may I know why its so important I don't touch your horns?"

Tsuna, glanced over at him, and gave him a small smile. "There is nothing to forgive, Hayato-kun, you didn't know. A dragon's horns are incredibly sensitive, due to being made completely of Ether, and developing ones are even worse. Essentially, allowing someone to touch your horns is a sign of total trust and/or submission. This is used to show trust between family and so-close-they-might-as-well-be-family friends, trust and submission between mates, and submission between servant and master. While I trust you completely, we've still only known each other less than a day, plus, you didn't even know what you were doing. To put it bluntly, dragons prioritize the protection of their horns because if someone touches them, it renders us helpless." Gokudera had alternated between horror, a blush, and more horror throughout the story, and by the end, he apologized so fervently, accompanied by head-banging, that he almost got a concussion. Tsuna luckily managed to convince him that he was forgiven, and then proceeded to heal the damage.

"Don't worry Gokudera-kun. All I ask is that you don't touch them again unless I give you total permission. Though, I wouldn't mind if you ran your fingers through my hair again. It felt quite nice." in place of responding, Gokudera beamed, before they returned to their previous position, and returned to Tsuna relaxing as Gokudera slid his fingers through his hair. This was what their classmates entered too a few minutes later.

The first few in immediately caught sight of the adorable scene, and blood rushed to their faces almost instantly, showing off a crimson blush. Seriously, it was an incredibly nosebleed worthy scene. A handsome silver-haired boy sitting with a brown-and-blonde haired, petite, beautiful boy on his lap while he ran his fingers through his hair.

Many people were converted that day. There would soon be The Unofficial 5927 OTP Club forming in the school. Naturally, they would remain oblivious to the dedicated stalking, photo-taking, and 'collecting'.

Yeah. For the sake of their sanity, ignorance is bliss.

Anyways, the newly-converted shippers made their way to their seats, initiating quiet conversations so they didn't disturb the beautiful sight. Then, the fujoshis entered.

A small, tightly knit pack of females appeared in the doorway. There were all sorts from 'the generic fangirl' to 'school idols'. It mattered little what your social status and appearance was, all were welcome to become fujoshis. As they observed the scene in front of them, eyes became shadowed and glasses glinted evilly in the light, as they thanked all that is holy for being witness to this sight. Silently, concealing their presence, cameras, sketch pads, and pencils were taken out. Photos were taken, fanart drawn, fanfiction written. Upon noting the others who were also enamored with the sight, several members silently moved out in order to begin the conversion process. There were a few who began writing down information for the fanclub that had just silently formed.

Gokudera and Tsuna both felt a shiver of malicious intent run down their spines, but firmly ignored it.

Today was truly a good day to be a BL fan.

As they settled down (read: began truly working on the details of the new fanart, fanfiction, and club, while recruiting and making plans) the last members finally entered. There stood the sports-club members.

They were all converted in seconds. Swept away by the new and old fans alike, they too began to plot, and also made sure to join the fanclub. The only one who wasn't completely swept away was looking at the scene with a hint of jealousy underneath his brilliant smiles.

'_Why can't I have a relationship like that, just simple enjoyment in each others presence, no expectations, demands, nothing… A friend, just one true friend, is that truly too much to ask?' _One Takeshi Yamamoto, sword prodigy, watched by the entire school, glanced over once more, and his smile took on a bitter tint, before returning full power once more.

All the while, neither of the two, enraptured in their fluffy moment, noticed a thing.

* * *

**A/N - **Lupa here! That last line sounded a bit ominous, didn't it… It was supposed to be a lighthearted comment. Oh well, It'll probably be fine! Honestly, quite a bit of this was inspired by the dragon keeper series, but the setting, characters, and plot is completely unrelated.

Please review with any tips, thoughts, whether you like it, anything! All I ask is that it is constructive criticism.


	2. 2 - Of Sunshine and Unecessary Panic

**Disclaimer - I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, nor anything else mentioned in this story outside of the plot and OCs.**

_**The teachers will be OCs, some of which play bigger parts than others. Arcobaleno will come in later. Enjoy, reader-san**_

* * *

As the newly made 5927 fanclub quietly discussed among themselves, the two oblivious objects of interest continued their fluffy scene. However, the fanservice was unfortunately interrupted when Tsuna abruptly sat up, and arranged himself properly in his chair. Gokudera quickly took the cue, and hardened his slightly softened expression into his usual scowl, just in time for the door to slam open. A sharp bang rang through the rooms, and anything unrelated to the lesson was packed away within seconds, any and all hints of undisciplined behavior disappearing in seconds.

A tall man with raven-black, messily short hair stood in the doorway with a cool smirk on his face. A few girls gave some appreciative looks in his direction, but that was the extent of the signs of their affections. The fujoshis really didn't care, they paired guys with other guys, not themselves. They did acknowledge him as a good teacher (and potential seme) though.

Cool cocoa-brown eyes gazed out over the classroom, eventually landing on a certain brunet. Brown sharpened, staring challengingly into gold with red pupils, which the rest of the class was only now getting a good look at. Their breath caught in their throat upon getting even a fleeting glance of a brilliant blaze of confidence and challenge, with a strange, contradicting mix of humility and gentleness. Looking into those eyes could make anyone feel safe and protected, unless the angry spark one could feel behind that gaze was lit. Despite the inability to catch a glimpse of it, there was a distinct feeling that one should avoid lighting that particular wildfire at all costs.

All the students watched the battle of wills silently, though some had to glance away as their very will seemed to hang heavily in the air, making it seem thicker, harder to breathe. Finally, after what seemed much longer than it was, the golden eyed brunette-blonde gave a respectful, small nod to the newly entered teacher. Immediately, the tension was dispersed, becoming but a memory. Several girls (and guys) were fanning themselves now that the moment was over, and the smirk had returned to the teachers face, though no one was quite sure when it had disappeared in the first place. Now Tsuna could get a better look at him. He was tall, around seven feet (he felt a spark of envy at this) and his entire body was corded with clearly defined thin, lean muscles cording his body. A tight T-shirt clearly displayed a firm eight-pack, and a crimson jacket hung loose and open over his shoulders. A simple pair of grey slack were resting on his hips, and combat boots covered his feet. There was a confidence around him, but not arrogance. It was the sign of someone who knew their abilities well, and understood that while he wasn't the most powerful, he was still powerful indeed. The staring contest was Tsuna's draconic instincts demanding he get a measure of the one who would be teaching him. He would not learn from an inferior. Luckily, the man had a strong will, and was accepted.

"Alright, new kid. I'm Seishin, and my last name will only be told when you deserve to know. Now then, get up here and introduce yourself already."

"Hai, sir," was the cheerful reply. All signs of the powerful flame from before were gone, replaced by a cheery, gentle blaze that seemed to fill you with warmth. As he stood up, he began walking up towards the class. It was a fairly odd sight really. He moved with an incredible grace, and yet, every few seconds he tripped over thin air. While he mostly caught himself, one time, he didn't manage to, and as he was about to hit the floor, his face gained a look of resignation, giving others the impression that this happened rather often. However, as the hard floor came ever closer, his descent was abruptly halted by two lean, tanned arms encircling his midsection. As he was gently lifted and set on his feet, he turned to look into warm hazel eyes, with an undertone of something he didn't know.

"Are you alright?" The question was coated in worry, yet, it somehow seemed kind of forced. However, Tsuna ignored this thought, and gave him the best 'oh-my-goodness-i'm-so-so-grateful' look. Apparently he pulled it off well, judging by the stunned looks he was receiving.

"Yes, thank you. While I may be used to it, it doesn't make it hurt any less." He finished this with a small bow of gratitude, but before Takeshi could continue, (maybe tell him his name, address, phone number, zodiac sign, blood type…) he turned away and walked up to the front, a bit more carefully this time.

Finally standing by the teacher, the gold-eyed boy turned to look out over the crowd, and flashed what his mother strangely referred to as his 'killer smile' (she said it would have been lady-killer, but it worked on both genders. He still wasn't sure of what she meant) and didn't notice several students scrambling for tissues to wipe their bloody noses, while others had gone into a daze, and the rest had become hyper-focused on him. A certain fujoshi's glasses glinted in the light, pencil flying across the paper as she made a mysteriously detailed sketch of his smile, for future reference. Oh, the scenes this could be used in, and that moment with Yamamoto earlier… Within the confines of her mind, she menacingly chuckled at the thought of what this could lead to, all while keeping a blank look on the outside.

"My name is Tsunayoshi Sawada (thank you, aliases), and I look forward to working with you all. Please watch over me!" By the end, he blushed slightly, glancing shyly away from the people who seemed strangely intent on staring at him. This look was simply too much for a few, and several fell into unconsciousness (filled with all sorts of fascinating dreams that I have no intention of describing) while a few others were barely hanging on. Poor Gokudera was currently recalling the earlier occurrence in which Tsuna-sama was shirtless and draped across his back, he could just picture that look while…

His thoughts that were taking on consistently more worrying patterns ground to a halt when he felt a cool hand cup his cheek, and warm breath fluttered across his face, while a scent reminiscent of vanilla and ghost peppers, oddly enough, brushed across his scent glands. While it should have seemed odd, it was more intoxicating… Opening his forest-green eyes that he hadn't even realized he closed, he found himself falling into endless pools of gold with ruby centers, only inches from his own. Long bangs fell across his face, brown on the top half, changing to blond on the bottom, tickling his nose a bit. As his eyes wandered down a bit, he scanned flawless skin, and his gaze finally rested upon pink, soft looking lips.

That were currently a few centimeters from his own.

"Gokudera-kun, are you alright? You seemed to space out for a moment there, I was beginning to grow worried. Do you have a fever, perhaps?" Ah, that was Tsuna-sama's voice… Tsuna-sama's… voice? Upon realizing his current circumstances, with Tsuna leaning over his face, easily within kissable distance (and why did he even add that statistic anyways?), worried golden gaze staring into his own…

He literally turned crimson from the neck up, all the way to the tips of his airs, and, as blood spurted from his nose, he fell into unconsciousness. As he slumped over, his last words were strangely clear.

"You perverted bastards better not touch my Tsuna-sama!" and then he was gone. Imaginations, already running wild, had gone utterly crazy at the scene that just occurred before them. The fiery, yet gentle and naive uke, paired with a possessive, tough-on-the-outside yet sweet-on-the-inside seme. Bliss! It was truly wonderful! Already, there were several thought patterns deviating, odd musings occurring due to this scene combined with the earlier one. Thoughts that actually weren't that unusual for this world in these times. '_The more the merrier probably applies to romantic relationships too, right?'_

Yamamoto's warm gaze meanwhile, had gone glacial. To hide his sudden influx of negative emotions (_why don't I have someone that close to me, I'm surrounded by people, yet I'm all alone!_) he closed his eyes in a brilliant smile, one that, if anyone had looked closely, had truly known him, would easily be revealed as fake.

He didn't really like people who had things that he didn't.

Meanwhile, their sensei sighed from his position, completely forgotten by the rest of the class.

* * *

**AN - **I somehow feel like I made Yama-kun a bit of a yandere here… You have to admit it kind of suits his character though. But what is he talking about? Tsuna, a friend, the warmth and care shown here? Is he jealous of Gokudera, Tsuna, both, or neither? Honestly, even I'm not sure. Anyways, onwards with the story!

* * *

Tsuna quickly scrambled out of the class as fast as he could, and Gokudera tagged along, still blushing occasionally whenever he looked at Tsuna for too long. The silveret had woken up sometime in the middle of the lesson, and then proceeded to, exuberantly, apologize for his 'impure thoughts'. Now though, Tsuna was just grateful to be out of there. While the lesson was excellent, at a good pace and properly covering the material, the claustrophobia-inducing classroom left much to be desired.

Upon reaching a considerably more open area, he noticeably relaxed, and sighed in relief. Gokudera gave him a scrutinizing look, before thoughtfully asking, "should I just blow up the walls for you Tsuna-sama? I'm sure that would make it much more open and comfortable for you." Tsuna sweatdropped at the serious way this was said, and as Gokudera's fingers lit in highly-compressed red ether, which was highly explosive by the way, he quickly realized that Gokudera would be quite happy to do it.

"Ah! Hayato-kun, please don't! That would seriously turn out badly. I can imagine the paperwork that comes with property damage already…" He shuddered by the end, and Gokudera nodded, though as the Ether was re-absorbed, he had a noticeably disappointed look on his face. "Anything for you, Tsuna-sama!"

Upon seeing the disappointed look, Tsuna felt a small pang of guilt. He was pretty sure he was going to regret this but… "Hayato, I could make an area for you to safely blow things up in, so don't look so sad, please." The frantic nodding and joyous expression caused his foreboding feeling to ease off a bit.

"Anyways Tsuna-sama, our next class is survival and combat. Don't worry though, if anyone bothers you, I'll blow them up!"

"Hayato-kun, please don't blow up the students. It's bad for business to kill fellow students."

"Sorry, Tsuna-sama! I'll be careful, and make sure they don't die," was the response he got. Admittedly, he wasn't very reassured.

Upon reaching the classroom, he was flooded with relief due to the fact that, instead of a cramped, windowless space, it was a massive courtyard, open to the elements, and more importantly, the sky. As they stood together, neither took any notice of the way people were silently squealing over how close they stood to each other. Word sure does spread quickly in schools. Of course, there were also several people who glared at the two, for varying reasons that are currently unknown. As students milled about, gathering with people they knew, a cold voice rang out, immediately silencing everyone in the courtyard

"Oi, brats. Hurry up and shut yer traps, this class ain't yer time ta socialize. Now 'urry up and get ready. We're wastin' daylight 'ere." Upon hearing this, Tsuna nervously scrambled over to a spot on the courtyard that was opposite a boy with tanned skin and spiky, silver hair. Eyes the color of mercury glinted excitedly in the light of the sun, and despite his dragon senses being sealed in this form, he could still see the brilliant Ether that reminded him of the sun writhing underneath muscled skin. It slightly amazed him, with the way someone could have enough willpower to keep their ether subconsciously active. Of course, naturally, as he shifted from side to side briefly, he lost his balance and fell in an ungraceful heap on the grass. While quite a few student cooed at his awkward adorability, others snickered and sneered at him under their breath. Blushing, Tsuna hurriedly began to pull himself to his feet, when a large hand entered his vision. The mercurial gaze from earlier was now looking at him worriedly, though the… extreme? feeling that he gave off hadn't changed.

"Oi! That was an EXTREME fall! Are you EXTREMELY okay!" An incredibly loud voice poured forth, booming out much louder than was necessary. While he probably should have felt annoyed like all the other students who were shooting the silver-haired boy scornful looks, instead he couldn't help feeling warm and amused. This boy was like the sun, powerful, brilliant, and never tiring. It was a warm feeling, and he rather enjoyed it.

"Thank you so much, um, eto… who are you?" As he took the others hand and pulled himself to his feet, he almost squinted against the bright grin he was given (hey, he couldn't help it, its instinctual to close your eyes against the sun!). "My EXTREME name is Ryohei Sasagawa! I'm the EXTREME captain of the school's EXTREME boxing club!" The sunny boy blinked at the slightly shy smile he received from the new kid, who so far seemed extremely extreme.

"It's nice to meet you, Sasagawa-san. I'm Tsunayoshi Sawada, new kid. Your boxing club sounds very... extreme, though." Ryohei blinked some more at actually having someone talk to him without seeming irritated or scornful. He knew most people were overwhelmed by his extremeness, and didn't appreciate how he always lived life to the fullest (frequently interrupting their sleep while he was at it), but this kid who he hadn't even known for five minutes seemed almost painfully honest. Even his sister was unappreciative of his exuberant demeanor sometimes, and she had grown up with him. Thus, his mind reached an immediate conclusion at to what he should do next, after all, this guy was very extreme! "Sawada! Join the boxing club to the EXTREME!" He expected an immediate refusal, as almost everyone tended to lean towards, but instead, the others face had a thoughtful look on it.

"Sorry Sasagawa-san, it seems fun, but boxing doesn't really suit me, you know? I can stop by once in a while though, just don't get your hopes up, as my combat skills aren't the best." Hibari Kyoya, who was reclining on the roof nearby observing this conversation, felt his eyebrow twitch in the slightest at this comment. His fighting skills weren't the best? What did he consider 'good' then? Clearly, he had ridiculous standards. Meanwhile, Gokudera, who was scowling, and twitching quite a bit as he observed the interaction between the most amazing person in existence, and the most annoying person in existence. As he was about to reach his breaking point, and go over to the two, the teachers cold voice sounded over the voices of all the students.

"Oi, cupcakes. Didn' I already tell ya that this ain't social time? 'Urry up and get crackin', so I can fix tha' many 'oles in your surely shabby fightin'." The sentence was finished in a rumbling, dangerous tone of voice, and Tsuna gave a mental HIIEE! as he turned to face Ryohei. Seeing the blinding grin on the others face, he got a slight foreboding feeling. Then, the other boy was moving in with a powerful right hook, yelling out what was apparently the technique name while he was at it. Tsuna brought up his palm in a simple guard, turning his body slightly, and redirecting the others fist away from him. Body now at a sideways angle, Tsuna performed a simple box step, slipping between the others guard, where he landed a solid blow into his floating ribs, and, pulling back his fist, used the momentum to slam the other into his back, around Ryohei's kidney. Immediately following the movement, he brought his hand up to the other boy's shoulder, tightening his fingers into a solid grip, before bringing his leg forward and sweeping the boys foot from under him, using his now unbalanced state, he jerked back his hand, and slammed him into the ground, _hard_. He then slid back into his simple fighting stance from before, one foot forward, the other slightly behind and to the side, knees bent and ready for any movement. His back was straight, but leaning slightly forward in an aggressive manner. Looking at the boy on the ground, he stared for a moment, before snapping out of his fight-induced daze, and realizing that he had actually used a fair percent of his ability against a student who hadn't yet contracted a dragon.

Before we continue, a brief explanation of contracts. Basically, its sharing power. The dragon powers up the keepers physiology and Ether reserves, allowing the contractor many times more strength, speed, regenerative abilities, and endurance, the amount increased depending on how powerful the dragon was. The Ether reserves would also multiply several times, and continue to gradually increase as the keeper grows used to channeling the dragons _Vivere_. Meanwhile, the keeper helps the dragon with control. Basically, no matter what station, or how intelligent, all dragons have abysmal control. The only way they can naturally use it is to enhance their physical abilities, or send it in uncontrolled blasts. While powerful, this style wasted considerable amounts of Vivere, and had no finesse or strategy. Anyone with skilled control and good battle instincts could take down a dragon fighting in such a manner, no matter how powerful. The keeper provides a kind of conduit for this, and, through some advanced happenings that can't be explained in a timely manner, allows the dragon progressively better control, with practice.

Basically, even with seals, Tsuna was many, many times stronger than a normal human, even not taking into consideration his emperor's heritage. At full strength, a flick of his fingers could send a boulder flying as though it was but a pebble. Gokudera, though not yet done absorbing the effects of their contract, was already strong enough to pick up said boulder, and throw it a fair distance if he strained himself. Upon fully assimilating his newfound strength, he would be able to lift the same boulder with one arm, and throw it as far as Tsuna could have flicked it, with only a little effort. The punches he just gave Ryohei could easily leave a massive crater in solid rock, thus he felt that the way he was panicking at the moment was completely justified.

"Sasagawa-san? Sasagawa-san! Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean too, are you okay, oh dear, what if he doesn't wake up, what if he's dead!" Finally, he had enough, and forgetting the audience he had garnered, fell to his knees before the other boy. First due to his abnormal combat ability (because there was a reason aside from his extremeness that nobody sparred with Ryohei, the last person almost died from internal damage), now due to his frantic panicking, that was idiotic or adorable depending on which group you asked, quite the crowd had gathered, including the teacher, who no longer looked quite so bored, instead seeming a bit interested, because what kind of combat teacher would he be if he didn't recognize the incredible skill and power behind those punches. He wasn't worried about the other, because even without help, his sun flames were so powerful that any damage was doubtless regenerating at a ridiculous pace. He would doubtless be completely better by the end of the day, though judging by the Ether he felt the new brat gathering, it would probably be shortened to minutes.

Tsuna, meanwhile, had reached out to his contractor instinctively, and, after having been granted permission before he could even ask, began to channel his Vivere (because he didn't have enough practice with his Ether, and Vivere was just instinct) through Gokudera, who instinctively refined it for the purpose he could sense Tsuna needed. No one noticed the dragon tattoo on the others arm begin to glow slightly through the bandages Gokudera had wrapped around his arm in order to cover it. Meanwhile, below the shirt Tsuna was currently wearing, his orange gem-like scales became a combination of emerald and sunbeams.

After all, Tsuna was a mirror dragon, who was primarily sky attributed. His mother had been so proud upon seeing that her son was the first true mirror dragon in a millenia. It had been several thousand years since a mirror dragon had also been emperor.

His horns that were hidden beneath his hair, (that was shorter on top, and somehow defied gravity thanks to having less weight), which were also previously an almost reflective ivory tinted orange, became the color of the sun, with a few emerald veins running through them. Luckily no one was paying too much attention, or they would have noticed the yellow-green glow of his horns, that, due to how much Ether he was channeling, had extended four inches, and luckily curved back a bit before breaching their cover, though, next time they grew he would need to slap a small mist-illusion to disguise them. His eyes were now glowing neon yellow on the left and lightning green on the right, pupils having disappeared as Vivere flowed through him.

Due to his guilt, he was going a bit(read: WAY) overboard, not only healing all his injuries (though he didn't touch scars unless it was requested of him, since some people considered scars a sign of their survival, and he wouldn't just disrespect that) but reinforcing his entire body as he went, from muscles to skin to bone, all the way down to a molecular level. While it only cut down a bit of his reserves, the mental strain of doing something so elaborate and complex without the assistance of words, symbols, a magic circle, or some other guidelines to direct and control it, was so massive it doubtless would have killed a normal person in seconds, luckily, he had Giotto frantically processing what he couldn't in the back of his mind, swearing at his reckless idiocy, because why was he healing someone who would have healed just fine anyways!? If he was a physical being, he would have been banging his head on a wall, as it was, he just focused on preventing Tsuna's brain from being overloaded.

Gokudera meanwhile, through their link, had a faint idea of what exactly he was doing, and nearly fainted at seeing the equations and symbols Tsuna by himself was calculating at rapid speeds, not even counting what Giotto was doing. He was awed at how incredible his Tsuna-sama was, but worried at the same time, as he also knew the dangers of such a things. Tsuna had no time to consider any of these things though, as every ounce was focused on his task, since a failure, would immediately boil both his and his patients molecules, slowly and painfully killing them, before they disintegrated. Yeah, no thanks.

Finally, after a few minutes, though to two worried consciousnesses it felt more like hours, he completed his task. The kid had taken to the reinforcements so well that rather than the intended double, his strength, regen, speed, and durability had quadrupled. He had already been monstrous compared to the average joe human, but now, he was in a whole different dimension. Tsuna stood up, not physically exhausted, but the mental fatigue had him on the verge of unconsciousness. Now that he was out of his panicked frenzy (and why had he been so upset, anyways, all he knew was that the thought of the boy who felt like the sun, and seemed to brighten up his dull world with his mere presence, being harmed, inspired a soul-deep fear within him) he realized that he had gone overboard to a ridiculous degree, since he could have healed him in a few seconds with no negative effects. Giotto had finished snarling at him, having even gone so far as to say a few things that shouldn't be repeated to small children. Now, though, he had gone suspiciously silent. He seemed to be contemplating something, and Tsuna knew better than to disturb him at times like this. While Giotto was usually cheerful, friendly, and naive, often attempting to convince him into eating more sweets so he could access his taste receptors and enjoy them as well, he had another side to him. This side was thoughtful, contemplative, almost dark, reminding him, oddly enough, of a boss of a large organization. However, he was quickly distracted from these thoughts when the newly-healed Ryohei Sasagawa's eyes snapped open, energy glimmering in their depths.

He certainly didn't look like someone who had just suffered a fairly serious injury. Rather, he looked even better than before.

"EXTREEEEMMMEE!" The loud cry echoed, making him flinch as his sensitive ears registered the piercing sound. The silveret quickly leapt to his feet, and was practically bouncing off some metaphorical walls. "You are EXTREMELY amazing, Sawada! That was one of the most EXTREME punches I've ever felt!" It was at this moment that Gokudera appeared. "Of course Tsuna-sama's punch is amazing, its only natural considering his greatness, idiot Turf-top! How dare you so much as imply that his punches would be anything less than the best!"

"What was that, Tako-head!?" The two then began snarling various remarks at each other, though there wasn't a feeling of maliciousness behind it. Rather, it was more like a feeling between two rivals who didn't get along, but still respected each other. Thus, Tsuna just smiled in amusement as he watched the two volley remarks back and forth. The teacher, who was leaning right next to him, smirked and shook his head, before quickly morphing his face into a scowl, though the twinkle of amusement in his eyes remained.

"Oi, you two weaklings! I'll let cha' talk in my class when ya don't crumble ta some new brat's punch like a wet noodle, got it! So shut cher' traps, and sunshine boy, come o'er 'ere n' let me make sure yer all 'ealed!" As Ryohei immediately snapped to attention and walked over at the command, though his eyebrow twitched at the name, Hayato didn't even attempt to hide his snort of amusement. "Puppy-brat, that goes for you too! I'll let cha' laugh at the others when you can beat me in a fight!" The snort of amusement turned into a scowl, and as his fingers lit up in compressed red flames, he opened his mouth to snap back a reply. However, before he could release his anger in the form of explosive storm ether, he felt a hand gently touch his arm, and sky with a small mix of rain ether flowed into him. Immediately, the miniature fires on his fingertips were extinguished as he relaxed into the touch of his bonded dragon. Their teacher (whose name he still didn't know, come to think of it) shot them a knowing look at this, as his eyes flicked up to his head, right around where the orange-blue glow of his horns was fading. Tsuna just blinked at him. It wasn't too much of surprise, though he wasn't sure if he had been told, or figured it out on his own.

However, he almost immediately turned back to Gokudera, and gently placed his hands on the sides of his face. Carefully guiding him so emerald met gold and crimson, his twin orbs stared into the others calmly. "Hayato. I understand you have some difficulty with controlling your temper, and I don't mind that. However, please try not to resort to violence whenever your upset. I would rather you not hurt someone unless they truly deserve it."

Immediately, his entire countenance drooped, and he took on the look of a kicked puppy. "I'm so sorry, Tsuna-sama! I'll do my best in controlling my temper from now on." The gentle smile he was given caused him to straighten and give a tentative one in return. Then, Tsuna dropped his hand from his face, down to his wrist.

As he turned back to observe the check-up, and make sure he didn't do anything incorrect that might hurt 'sunshine boy'. However, as he watched, Giotto spoke once more in his mind. '_Tsuna. I want you to create another AI chip. Ask your temperamental friend if you can get a copy of his Ether, and I'll take care of the rest.'_ He spoke in a frigid, commanding tone, that Tsuna felt he couldn't go against (though he had before, that one time, when it really mattered…), thus he immediately agreed. Upon asking, Gokudera immediately agreed, and Tsuna gave him a grateful look. He quickly sent a tendril of Ether through their skin-to-skin contact, and made a quick scan-and-copy, before withdrawing. Gokudera simply blinked at the warm feeling flowing through his core, before it withdrew.

"Hey, kid." Tsuna blinked, looking up to see that the teacher had come over, and was sporting a indifferent expression, though if you looked closely, you would see worry shimmering below the surface. "Ya did pretty good there, kid. Next time though, be a little more cautious, that was almost out of your reach."

Tsuna blushed, clearly embarrassed. "Sorry. I panicked." He said, looking down.

"Well, its fine, just try and avoid dying in the middle of my class." He received a smile, before the mental fatigue caught up all at once (really, he had only been delaying the inevitable, holding it back), and his twin pools of gold with ruby centers were hidden by gold-tan eyelids, and deep black lashes, as he slumped over and fell to the ground. Or he would have, if not for Gokudera's instant reaction to Tsuna being in the slightest bit of trouble, which had him catching the smaller boy, and sweeping him off his feet into a bridal-style hold (though he might have held him a little closer than necessary…) before turning and swiftly striding into the building, straight for His Dragon's room. Strides turned into sprints once he slipped from view, and he only managed to keep calm due to knowing that panicking wouldn't help Tsuna-sama at all. A certain skylark was heading in the same direction (at a considerably faster speed), foul mood literally becoming tangible, as his Ether subconsciously poured out to surround him in angry deep purple, so condensed that cloud flames subconsciously lit themselves at the edges.

Why was he so upset anyways.

Was it because the carnivore had been damaged by such a paltry action?

Was it because the small animal had been damaged at all?

Was it because it was _him?_

He didn't particularly care. Hibari Kyoya had always followed his instincts. His instincts said that the small animal (who fights like a carnivore, yet acts more like a herbivore that occasionally become a carnivore, thus escaping categorization, so he simply labeled him as the only thing he could) belonged to him. Hibari Kyoya always protected what belonged to him, as it was a clear sign of weakness when one could not even defend ones own possessions and territory. Thus, he was a small animal who escaped categorization, and belonged to Hibari Kyoya, and that was all there was to it.

He simply had to make the small animal accept this fact. He felt like a dragon, which meant that when he convinced him so, he would be able to make this fact tangible and solid (and he had no doubts that if he felt like one, then he was one, because a carnivore's instincts do not lie).

Though, that loud herbivore who, judging by the flashes of a newly formed contract seal on his arm he had noticed, had already contracted with the small animal, might be annoying. While it was good the small animal had more protection, if that protection kept him (who was surely superior in those regards) away, it was simply a hindrance.

Stupid herbivores.

* * *

Later that day, a certain sunny silveret thought over the earlier events, and considered the aftermath, in which he could now shatter a boulder with a solid punch. That new kid was strong, and really interesting (since he wouldn't have lived this long if he was too dumb to realize that the guy had certainly done more than heal him) in more ways than one. A cheerful (yet somehow animalistic) smile spread across his face, as he considered the boy who fought like a dragon, and felt like The Sky.

Perhaps His Sky.

Yeah, he'd really like to fight him again (after practicing some more) because the best way to get to know a person was to fight them.

Oh, and he was really cute too.

* * *

"_Hey #$%, you'll take care of this for us, right?"_

No, he couldn't just do everything by himself all the time.

"_So long as we have ^%#$, we'll win for sure, so lets go out for lunch. $%# is the only one who needs to practice after all."_

No. No. He can't win all by himself. There were the other members too. If they all relied on him, they'd lose-

_Nobody cares about your excuses, or what you want, much less what you feel._

"_All you have to do is practice, and win this for us. If you lose, we'll lose, and it'll all be your fault."_

It would all be his fault.

All he had to do was practice, and win.

He didn't need a real friendship, like that Sawada kid and Gokudera had.

Just win.

That was it.

Right.

* * *

**A/N - **Over 5.6k words. What do ya'll think about the brief interludes there at the end? I just felt I needed to incorporate those POV's outside of the things centered around Tsuna, though somehow, he still manages to be the epicenter. Anyways, this one comes rather easy to me, because incorporating dragons and magic is essentially my field of expertise.

Please review, as I love seeing what you guys have to say about the story so far, and it really encourages me to write more. Thank you all for reading, and see you next chapter!

~Ciao,

Lupa


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